Police crackdown plan for foreigner ID cards: more hours and automatic appointments

By May 2025, the Police had already issued 721,968 TIE —Foreigner Identity Cards— and it doesn't stop. It expects to close the year 2026 above the historic record of 1.73 million. The reason? The extraordinary regularization, which closed last June 30 with almost 1.2 million applications. As you can see, demand has skyrocketed.

The Directorate General of the Police does not want trouble. So it has set up a shock plan: more positions, convert DNI windows into TIE dispensers, and hire interim civil servants. The offices will open in the afternoons and on Saturdays —with paid overtime, of course. And look, in most provinces a pilot test is already working: as soon as you receive the favorable resolution of your procedure, they assign you an appointment automatically. That easy. However, if your autonomous community is not in the program, you will have to keep struggling with the advance appointment on your own.

Juan Gabriel Zarza Martín —head of the Foreign Documentation Section— told it in a congress: the 201 documentation units have all kinds of problems. Language barriers, regulations that change constantly, communication failures with other agencies... The Police is the last link, and that's where complaints pile up. But the goal is to speed things up. If you have applied for regularization, the Administration has three months to resolve it. And watch out: administrative silence is never negative. That is, if they don't reply, it does not mean your application is denied. So relax.

Pilar Cancela, the Secretary of State for Migration, also attended the event. She staunchly defended the reinforcement of staff and budget of the Ministry of the Interior. Regarding the automatic appointment, she said clearly: "If it had worked in all of them, it would have been a dream." But, hey, progress continues. And she gave a direct message: "Every person who has submitted an application will receive a resolution, whether favorable or not." You already know that.

Call effect? Cancela is clear: "Migratory flows grow when Spain grows." That is, the magnet is the economy, not aid. She also focused on hate speech and xenophobia, which she described as "tremendously dangerous" for sneaking into the political debate. Meanwhile, you can only wait and, if a problem arises, have the help channels at hand. Hurry up, it's not a plan.

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